I'm siting in a park looking at the trees. Above me attached to a lamp post there's a camera watching trees. Another camera is pointed at other people who also may be looking at trees. The cameras are running 24/7. I know this because there's a council sign near the camera telling me so. Behind me there's another larger council sign warning that tree killers face a fine of $1 million . I read that a couple of times: $1 million? Yes, they really mean $1 million.
In Sydney, a city with some of the highest real estate prices in the world, a tree blocking a water view can reduce the value of a property by $200,000. Against a background of increasingly desperate council measures to stop tree poisoning, "Watching the Trees" explores how humans' relationships with trees continues to evolve as the green movement engages with real estate in the 21st century.